Find Carpenter and Joiner Jobs on Grafter

Sign up free as a Grafter, set your trade to carpenter and joiner, and add your tools, workshop or van radius, and a handful of photos of past jobs — kitchens you have fitted, staircases, built-in wardrobes, first-fix frames. Once the profile is live, local carpentry jobs land in your feed and inbox as clients post them, and you apply in one click. Message the client to run through the scope, site access, and agree a rate before you commit.

Yes. Grafter is completely free for carpenters and joiners — no signup fee, no monthly subscription, and no charge to apply for jobs. Grafter only charges clients a small fee for using the platform, so what you agree with a client is what you keep.

Once you and the client agree a carpentry job, you create a work agreement on the platform covering what is being built or fitted, timings, and payment terms. Payment runs securely through Grafter when the work is signed off, which is particularly useful on bespoke joinery and multi-day fits where you do not want to chase a homeowner for the balance yourself.

The strongest carpenter profiles include a CSCS card (blue skilled-worker or gold supervisor card is ideal), any City & Guilds or NVQ Level 2/3 qualifications in site carpentry or bench joinery, public liability insurance (most clients expect £1–5m cover for joinery work), proof of right to work, and a gallery of past work — kitchens, staircases, built-in units, first-fix frames, decking. Clients can look through your documents, reviews, and past work before deciding to hire you.

Carpentry jobs on Grafter cover the full range of timber work — first-fix framing and roof carpentry on extensions and loft conversions, second-fix work (skirting, architrave, doors, stairs), kitchen and fitted-furniture installations, bespoke joinery for alcoves, staircases and cabinetry, external timber work such as decking, pergolas and garden rooms, and repair or restoration work on older properties with heritage timber detail.

A traditional agency places you on a client's site, takes a daily margin off your day rate, and controls the relationship. Grafter is a direct-hire platform — you keep 100% of what you agree with the client, hold the relationship yourself, and pick which jobs you take on. There is no commission taken from your pay and no one sitting between you and the homeowner, builder, or main contractor.

Yes — carpentry jobs almost always assume you bring your own tools. A typical site-carpenter kit covers cordless drill/driver and impact driver, circular saw, jigsaw, mitre saw, track saw or router, nail gun, chisels, hand planes, spirit levels, squares and tapes, plus a good-sized van to move sheet goods and finished pieces. Bench joiners also need workshop kit (table saw, planer-thicknesser, router table) but many workshop jobs are posted with the expectation you bring hand tools only. The job post will say exactly what is provided and what you need to bring.

Yes. You set your own availability, your travel radius, and which jobs you apply for. Take a single day to hang a set of doors, a week of kitchen fitting, or a full first- and second-fix package on an extension — Grafter has no minimum hours and no exclusivity, so you can work on Grafter alongside any other jobs or subcontract work you already have.

After every paid carpentry job, the client can leave you a review on your profile covering workmanship, timekeeping, and communication. Those reviews stay with you across every future job — your reputation is portable. For carpentry especially, a steady run of solid reviews with photos of fitted kitchens, hung doors and bespoke joinery is often what tips a client into messaging you first when they post a new job.

The carpenters who win the most work keep their portfolio fresh — a handful of recent photos from different job types (a kitchen, a staircase, a set of fitted wardrobes, a first-fix frame) tells a client in seconds that you can handle their project. A clear list of what you will and will not do (for example, kitchen fitting yes, worktop templating no), a sensible travel radius, and quick replies to messages make the biggest difference. Clients often hire the first carpenter who gives them a confident, specific answer about their job.